RV homes getting more fuel-efficient

By L.M. Sixel

Updated 7:20 pm, Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

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Recreational vehicles, like the Winnebago Tour 42GD at the Houston RV Show at Reliant Center, are saving two to three feet of cabinet space with flat-screen TVs, allowing more room for such items as L-shaped sofas. less

Recreational vehicles, like the Winnebago Tour 42GD at the Houston RV Show at Reliant Center, are saving two to three feet of cabinet space with flat-screen TVs, allowing more room for such items as L-shaped ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

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Some new recreational vehicles are so light they can be pulled by Mini Coopers.

Some new recreational vehicles are so light they can be pulled by Mini Coopers.

Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

RV homes getting more fuel-efficient

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HOUSTON — Like many RV shoppers, Helen and Weldon Lack don't want to have to buy a special towing vehicle just to pull their home-away-from-home down the highway.

They already own a half-ton pickup, so they're looking for something fairly light but spacious for cross-country road trips and weekend getaways to San Luis Pass.

The Lacks were kicking the tires Wednesday at the first day of the Houston RV Show, which runs through the weekend. .

The recently retired Lacks, who already own a 19-foot-long recreational vehicle, are looking to upgrade. They have their eye on a 26-footer, which would make cooking and tidying up easier and more comfortable.

Recreational vehicles are getting smaller, lighter, more aerodynamic and more fuel-efficient, said Kevin Broom, director of media relations for the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association in Reston, Va. Some are so small they can be towed by a Mini Cooper.

That trend, which began before the recession began, is in response to the increase in fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks, he said. The new, lighter vehicles need lighter “towables,” the industry's term for the RVs that attach with a trailer hitch and represent 90 percent of the new RV market.

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Manufacturers can make significant design changes. A 27-inch television, for example, used to require two to three feet of cabinet space. Now manufacturers are installing flat-screen panels that hang on the wall.

Karen and John Sheehan were examining one of the show's small and aerodynamically designed RVs, the “Little Guy,” a tear-drop-shaped camper that is little more than a bed. Pull up the back end and there's the outdoor kitchen.

While the $8,995 camper wouldn't work for the retired couple from Katy, it's popular with hikers, couples and young families who drive a small car and need a small trailer.

An attachable tent allows the parents to sleep in the trailer and the kids in the tent, said Charlie Power, vice president of sales and finance for Holiday World of Houston.

Manufacturers also are making slideouts that extend the size of the unit with a push of a button.

Those changes also are increasing the gas mileage of motor homes. Broom said he got a little more than 20 mpg, mostly driving on the highway, on a recent camping trip in a van camper.

Gas mileage is a bigger concern for new customers, he said. Shoppers who already have owned RVs aren't as worried because they know that gasoline is the fourth- or fifth-biggest expense on a trip. Food and campground fees are typically more costly.

More than 90 percent of RV owners use their rigs for frequent weekend trips and don't stray more than an hour or two from home, Broom said. If fuel prices rise, many choose to stay closer to home.

The average age of an RV owner, which has been stuck at 49 for a long time, has gotten a little younger, he said. It's now 48, he said.

While retirees are still a huge part of the market, more young families with children are giving RV-style camping a try.

Families are looking at RV travel as a way to get their kids away from their computer screens and create the kind of childhood memories their own parents cherish, said Joe French, general manager of Ron Hoover RV & Marine in Houston.

The younger buyers also are more interested in what he calls “flash” — leather upholstery, solid-surface countertops and rich wood. Baby boomers, on the other hand, are focused more on insulation — is it cool enough in the summer and warm in the winter?